Explosion starts fire, knocks down walls at South Ogden home

SOUTH OGDEN — An explosion blew off the walls of a home in South Ogden Tuesday morning.

At 8:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 12, the South Ogden Fire Department was called to a home at 183 S. Country Club Drive where an explosion had occurred and a fire started, according to South Ogden Fire Chief Rich Rasmussen.

Gasoline being used in the home is believed to have caused the explosion, but officials have not determined why it was being used, Rasmussen said.

The explosion blew out the outside walls of the home and started a small fire in the basement.

The lone resident was home at the time and escaped without injuries, Rasmussen said.

“It was a huge explosion. It lifted me up just like an earthquake would,” neighbor Suzie Oaker said.

Oaker said her home wasn’t damaged by the explosion, but broken glass and bits of insulation littered her and other neighbor’s yards.

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It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to get the blaze under control. Rasmussen said firefighters had to be pulled out after the structure was determined to be too unstable. Fire crews had to fight the fire from the outside of the building.

The fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.

The house will be condemned, Rasmussen said.

Firefighters from Ogden, Weber Fire District, Riverdale and Roy also responded to the scene.

Photographer Ben Dorger contributed to this report.

Reach digital producer Jessica Kokesh at 801-625-4229 or jkokesh@standard.net. You can also follow her on Twitter at @JessicaKokesh or Facebook.com/ByJessKokesh.